Sunday, September 26, 2010

SEO Services being offered on the internet today are overwhelming. But the question is, do most of these "SEO companies" deliver results?

Dependable SEO services are rare to find nowadays since everybody seems to be to getting into online business marketing. More and more websites are competing to get into the top 10 in terms of search engine ranking. With this scenario in mind, companies and small businesses should be very careful in their search for SEO companies with competent SEO services.

So, before you dole out your hard-earned dollars to get those SEO packages, read below for the things you should know when looking for SEO Services from SEO Companies:

1) Always ask for a case study. An SEO specialist should definitely present you with a case study containing a thorough evaluation of your business' strengths and weaknesses, as well as an overview of your competitors' marketing strategies. This gives you a jump start on what your company lacks in comparison to others. This could be very helpful before you hire SEO services.
2) Review an SEO company's web design and development and content management system. Ask for copies of their client's web pages or check out how their client's websites look like in the Internet. This will give you an idea of the kind of output that you are most likely to be getting from a prospective SEO firm.
3) Collect and collect, then select. It may be a bit time-consuming, but any wise spender knows that canvassing and comparing notes rather than hiring the SEO services of the first SEO company that comes your way eventually leads to money well spent.
4) Don't forget to inquire about SEO strategy and planning services. Find out as much as you can how an SEO consultant creates a marketing plan, more importantly for businesses that are similar to yours. Some SEO services firms are adept at formulating SEO keywords while others are more inclined to churning out award-winning web designs. Others have a knack for link-building strategies and there are SEO companies that offer social media marketing packages.
5) Ask several companies that offer SEO services to present you with a variety of search engine optimization services. Most SEO firms can offer different rates and SEO strategies can work depending on the client's budget and preferences. Also, ask for a detailed rate card that includes separate pricing for say, SEO audit, web design, web copywriting services, content management system, and web design and development. This way, you will get an idea of how much you should be paying for each kind of SEO services you are getting.
6) Ask for referrals. With a bit of effort and time, you can check out top 10 SEO companies and see if you can afford them. If not, the next best thing to do is ask SEO firms to provide you with a list of their existing clients so you can inquire about the quality of work from the people that have enlisted their SEO services.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Reverse SEO fits seamlessly within the context of your online reputation management (ORM) program. It is the quickest, most effective solution for dealing with bad press that has surfaced on the search engines about you or your company. By pushing negative listings from the front page of Google, Yahoo, and Bing, reverse SEO shields you from the damaging commentary of others.

Negative publicity online has become one of the most frustrating challenges for companies. It is typically anonymous. Names are often unattached to forum threads, blog posts, and even entire websites. Therefore, it is difficult to track and address the source of the complaint. Moreover, the growing popularity of social networking platforms has made it easier than ever for anyone with a mild grievance to give weight to their grudge. If you or your company have been the target of bad press online, it may be time to launch a reverse
SEO campaign.

Controlling Bad Publicity With Reverse Search Engine Optimization

To appreciate why reverse SEO is effective, you should understand how negative press takes root within the top search listings in the first place. Google, Yahoo, and Bing rank pages based on a large number of criteria. If a website and its individual pages satisfy the most important of those criteria, those pages will rank well.

A lot of the bad press that targets companies (possibly even yours) is placed on websites that meet key ranking parameters in the search algorithms. That means the negative publicity can climb into the top positions and gain exposure. When people search for you or your company, they'll see the bad press. That damages your reputation.

Reverse search engine optimization is an ORM strategy that pushes negative publicity from the top search positions. By moving the bad press off the first page of listings, reverse SEO limits its exposure and stifles its impact.

Ingredients For An Effective Reverse SEO Campaign

Like search engine marketing, reverse SEO uses a methodical, multi-pronged approach to protect your online reputation. The first step is to identify the sites and pages that contain negative publicity about your company and that are ranking for important keywords. Those keywords might include your name, that of your company, or key employees.

The second step of reverse SEO is to analyze those sites and pages for their respective ranking authority. That will help you determine the effort and tools you'll need to use in order to move them from the first page of listings within Google, Yahoo, and Bing. A negative PR blitz that is spreading across social networking sites is more difficult to overcome than a single blog post that is on a non-authoritative domain.

The third step is to gather the necessary tools and execute your reverse SEO campaign. Such tools might include optimized press releases, a new network of competing sites and blogs, social media profiles, and a social bookmarking program. Reverse SEO may also include heavy content syndication to build high-quality links. A search engine marketing specialist will have these tools at their disposal.

Reverse SEO Begins Before Negative Press Emerges

The best time to launch a reverse SEO campaign is before bad publicity appears in the search engines. This is due to the way that the pages link. A page will rank well within the search engines if there are enough thematic links pointing toward it. However, once it ranks, it will gain exposure. That exacerbates the problem.

Negative press can spread rapidly as people attach the press to their own blogs, sites, forums, and social media accounts. That creates a growing portfolio of links pointing toward the damaging press, cementing its position in the top listings. It becomes more difficult to address. By launching a reverse SEO campaign upfront, you can prevent the negative publicity from gaining exposure in the first place.

Protect Your Online Reputation With Reverse SEO

Reverse SEO should play a key role in your online reputation management program. It is far too easy for unsatisfied customers, resentful employees, lazy journalists, and malicious competitors to tarnish your name. And when it happens, it is usually done under the cover of anonymity. Anonymity makes the complaint or grievance impossible to address in private.

Launch your reverse SEO campaign now - before trouble strikes and the damage begins to gain momentum in the search engines. In a year's time, you'll be glad you did.